Chapter Ten: A Thousand Miles Journey

  I told Duke Te in simple words, "Your Highness, this place is surrounded by mountains and rivers, there must be a small path that can be bypassed. Even if we can't bypass it, we can pretend to be able to bypass it and lure them out of the city. What we fear is not their bravery and good fighting skills, but rather their stubborn defense and refusal to come out. Forcing our way into the city would not be as good as thinking of a way to lure them out. Moreover, since Tian Wei is skilled in battle, he will definitely not be content with just defending the city." What I said was only a principle, but Duke Te, having experienced many battles, immediately understood and agreed that today's attack would definitely not succeed, so it's better to go back and discuss it again.

  Of course, I didn't speak up in the subsequent military meeting, because I wasn't very familiar with military affairs. I'm only good at analyzing intelligence and making judgments based on experience and knowledge. Moreover, now that Rong Yuan is already dissatisfied with me, if I were to show off too much, it would only make him more jealous. It's better to offend a gentleman than to offend a petty person - this is something I remember very clearly. However, these staff members are really formidable. I merely proposed an idea, and they were able to come up with all sorts of possibilities, investigate and fill in the gaps, and finally come up with a feasible plan. The more I looked at it, the more I admired them. Perhaps my expression was too obvious, because they all seemed a bit embarrassed. Even Rong Yuan's gaze towards me softened considerably.

  The next day, the King of Germany sent out soldiers to gather firewood and search for a small road. He then ordered half of the remaining soldiers to rest in their tents, while the other half stood far away watching the city of Pa, neither advancing nor retreating, but occasionally sending people to make fake attacks. If the defenders on the city wall reacted slightly, they would retreat. After noon, the resting soldiers and the morning soldiers switched shifts.

  On the third day, the soldiers of the Southern Chu army who were pretending to attack in front of Bazhou City began to get busy, either digging trenches or practicing their fists and feet, loosening their muscles and bones. They also pushed the war drums from the military camp to the front of the city and beat them every half hour, shouting loudly.

  On the fourth and fifth days, the defenders on the city wall began to feel exhausted and numb. After all, there were only 10,000 defenders in Nangong City, and although Nangong was a strategic fortress of Shu State, due to the good relations between Shu and South Chu, the military strength was not sufficient.

  On the sixth day, the Shu army in the city began to feel uneasy, and good news arrived that a small road had been found to bypass Bazhou. The second step of the plan was set in motion. The Southern Chu army started to gather its troops, sharpening their weapons and preparing for battle, making it seem like they were about to launch an attack. The Shu army inside the city began to feel tense, with a noticeable increase in the number of soldiers on guard. By nightfall, the troops began to move quietly, and the scouts from Shu who had been closely monitoring the Southern Chu army realized that they were trying to bypass Bazhou. Although this meant giving up the safety of their rear and supply lines, Tian Wei's strong personality made him determined to hold out, despite being outnumbered. The Southern Chu army may have only had 50,000 soldiers, but they were the best troops in the region, putting immense pressure on Tian Wei. Over the past few days, he and his generals had been discussing the situation, and they all believed that the Southern Chu army would definitely try to bypass Bazhou. After some discussion, one of the generals suggested that if the Southern Chu army did indeed bypass Bazhou, and Bazhou did not attack from behind, then the entire Southern Chu army would be doomed, and the soldiers in Bazhou would also face punishment. This ominous prospect made all the generals uneasy. In the end, Tian Wei ordered his troops to launch a surprise attack on the Southern Chu army's baggage train from behind while they were still bypassing Bazhou.

  The army of 50,000 wanted to march on the small road, but their speed was extremely slow. Tian Wei soon caught up with the rear team of the Southern Chu army. Tian Wei waved his large knife and shouted: "Southern Chu bandits, don't run!" As he shouted, Tian Wei led his 5,000 light cavalry into the Southern Chu army's rear like a steel knife. The Southern Chu army scattered and fled, and Tian Wei ordered his men to throw fire torches at the grain carts and heavy equipment. In an instant, flames erupted everywhere. Amidst the flames, Tian Wei laughed loudly and ordered his men to continue attacking, determined to defeat the Southern Chu army.

  Just then, a group of soldiers wearing white armor emerged from the scattered Southern Chu troops. They approached Tian Wei, who felt a chill in his heart. These were the personal guards of King Deqin, who should have been guarding the central army. But now they appeared here, and Tian Wei wondered if he had fallen into a trap.

  Tian Wei looked around and saw that the fires on the grain carts were quickly extinguished. Behind the group of soldiers, a yellow dragon flag with the character "Zhao" was raised. Tian Wei's heart was filled with worry and concern. If he had indeed fallen into an ambush, he would surely be defeated. But then he thought that since King Deqin's personal guards were here, perhaps the king himself was nearby. If he could kill King Deqin in one blow...

  Tian Wei couldn't resist the temptation and ordered his men to advance. The two armies clashed, but although Tian Wei's cavalry had the advantage, the Southern Chu infantry was skilled at fighting against cavalry. They knelt down in front, holding their long spears to block the horses, while the soldiers behind them shot arrows from their bows. Taking advantage of the narrow terrain, they blocked Tian Wei's advance.

  Tian Wei fought for a while but saw that he had no chance of winning. He ordered his men to retreat, and their warhorses galloped away quickly. In no time at all, Tian Wei completely left the battlefield behind. The Shu army's horses were fast, and Tian Wei thought with relief that it was still a small victory.

  But just as they had run for over ten miles, Southern Chu troops suddenly emerged from both sides of the road, attacking them from two directions. Tian Wei hastily ordered his men not to stop and to break through the encirclement at all costs. At this point, Tian Wei's heart was already filled with a sense of foreboding.

  On the short mountain road, they were constantly ambushed by small groups of Southern Chu soldiers, who used bows and arrows to attack from behind grass, trees, or rocks. If it weren't for the fact that they weren't in a valley, Tian Wei's several thousand iron cavalry would have had no hope of escape.

  Just when Tian Wei saw the walls of Bazhou City, he had already spent more than half a day, and only 3,000 soldiers remained. As he approached Bazhou City, Tian Wei saw the red flags of the Shu army falling from the city walls, while King Deqin's yellow dragon flag rose up.

  Tian Wei watched in shock as several Shu soldiers were cut down on the city wall, their bodies falling amidst the flashing swords and spears. Amidst the blood and flames, Tian Wei saw a figure who seemed out of place - a young Confucian scholar wearing a green robe, looking at him with a gaze full of pity.

  He stood on the city wall, but kept a distance from the other Southern Chu soldiers. He seemed like a ghost who didn't belong on the battlefield.

  I climbed up the city wall before the siege was fully over. This time, the Southern Chu army left 10,000 men behind at my suggestion, which was a gain from reading books before bed after the military council. After Deqin Wang approved it, we dug many large pits near the battlefield while pretending to circle around and hid the 10,000 troops in them, covering them with oilcloth and yellow soil on top. The scouts who came to check indeed only noticed that the camp was empty but didn't notice the hidden tunnels nearby. After Tian Wei sent out his troops, we took advantage of the laxity of the defending soldiers and immediately started attacking the city. As a result, the relaxed garrison was defeated by us. I climbed up the city wall because I wanted to see the outcome. The reason was that when Shu returned with their army, they might take revenge and kill us, the staff who stayed outside. With this reason, we all entered the city, of course, the guard was very strict, so we wouldn't get hurt by the remaining soldiers. Then I said I wanted to see the situation outside and climbed up the city wall again. Xiao Shunzi smiled and assigned two imperial guards to follow me, who were originally protecting Wang Hai, the supervisor of the army. However, Wang already knew that Xiao Shunzi was good at martial arts and got along well with me, so he agreed to send people to protect me. According to Xiao Shunzi, these two men had a good foundation in martial arts and could at least protect me until the Southern Chu soldiers came to rescue me.

  I walked through the sea of blood, carefully avoiding getting stained with blood, but my shoes were soon soaked in fresh blood. Luckily, I didn't get any on me. When I finally reached the city wall, the remaining Shu soldiers were quickly killed off. As I looked down at the city below, I saw the returning Shu army. The red-clothed general was staring blankly at the city above, and behind him, smoke billowed, revealing our army's flags. Suddenly, the red-clothed general charged towards us with a loud shout, and then I watched as this cavalry unit was surrounded, weakened, and defeated by our troops. In the distance, I saw the red-clothed general commit suicide by sword, still roaring in anger before his death.

  My heart trembled, war is not as lightly described in history books. In the eyes of the million-strong Shu army in Ba County, our army is a heinous enemy, killing their bodies and taking away their cities. But what can we do? At this moment, I really deeply hate this war, all for the benefit of Dayong and South Chu, Shu must be destroyed, using rivers of blood to exchange for the joy of the superior, is it really worth it?

  Next, I fell ill. The blood and the miserable cries made me unable to sleep or eat well. In the rapid march, my condition gradually worsened. One evening, Xiao Shunzi came into my tent, pulled me up and said: "I know why you're sick, put away your cheap sympathy! We've already become enemies, we're at war. If we lose, we won't make it back home. What's the point of talking about benevolence, morality, etiquette, or shame? I only know that I must survive, for your sake, I must survive. And you, you must at least survive for my sake too! Remember, you saved my life once, if you don't let me repay this debt, I won't let you die."

  I vaguely saw the tears on Xiaoshunzi's face, and said faintly: "Xiaoshunzi, brother, I know you treat me like a close relative, but I always bully you, you always take care of me, protect me, but I have to go now, don't be sad, you owe me nothing."

  Xiao Shunzi slapped me hard and said, "You think I'll always follow you around, you've never looked down on me, you think Xiao Shunzi is a nobody, you taught me to read books, helped me learn martial arts, without you, who would still look at Xiao Shunzi? If you die, I'll die with you, in the next life I want to be your brother, let you always protect me."

  My tears fell, Ah, how can I die? I still have a brother. If I died, wouldn't Xiao Shunzi be left alone? I've always known that Xiao Shunzi looks up to me because I treat him as a person, a flesh-and-blood human being, not just a eunuch, a faceless person. Hmph, what does the kingdom of Shu matter? The death of your people has nothing to do with me. Even if Southern Chu were to perish, it would have no bearing on me. These past few days, my illness has been severe, and aside from Xiao Shunzi and the military doctor, I haven't seen anyone else. Duke Deqin came twice, but he too eventually forgot about me. I forced myself to sit up and said, "Get me two pills of medicine from the white porcelain bottle in my luggage." Xiao Shunzi hastily went to fetch it, and with great difficulty, I swallowed the medicine. "I need to rest for a while," I said. "Prepare a more sumptuous breakfast for me tomorrow morning."

  Three days later, after sleeping for three whole days, I finally ate the breakfast brought by Xiao Shunzi and walked out of the camp. Looking at the clear sky, I stretched out my hands, took a deep breath, and said to Xiao Shunzi, "My illness has just been cured. Tell Wang Jianjun that I'll ride with him today."

  During the dozen or so days I was bedridden, the Southern Chu army's progress was still relatively smooth. The Southern Chu's capture of Ba Jun had a crushing blow to these small cities, causing them to lose their will to resist. With this strategy of strong attack and soft deception, the speed of the advance exceeded expectations. There was no news from Dayong, and no intelligence came in.

  In the following days, I was recovering from my serious illness, so there were not many official duties. In my spare time, I would often write poetry and other things. I didn't say much more, although King Deqin had come to ask about my condition with a guilty conscience. However, I wouldn't forgive him for abandoning me when I was ill, despite having treated me with importance in the past. So, I would just coldly thank him a few times and that's all.

  Anyway, I often spent time with Wang Jianjun, so there was no need to worry about him giving me trouble. That's just how small-minded I am.

  In the midst of marching and fighting, the Southern Chu army arrived at Luocheng before merging with the naval forces that had arrived earlier. Luocheng was a barrier to Chengdu, the capital of Shu State, where 50,000 troops from Shu State had gathered. The famous general of Shu State, Wei Xian, led 20,000 soldiers to set up camp in front of Luoxian County, while General Long Bu led 30,000 soldiers to defend Luocheng. The Southern Chu army launched a thunderous attack on Fuwater Pass, and the defending general fought bloody battles for several days before abandoning the city and fleeing. In Fucheng, they set up their main camp, knowing that the next battle would be a protracted one. Therefore, he only arranged for the naval forces to patrol the waters of Fu River, cutting off reinforcements, while the land forces were deployed in secret. The north gate of Luoxian County was adjacent to the Fu River, and the south gate was surrounded by mountain roads. Duke Deqin used the naval forces to transport troops and attack Luocheng from both east and west gates. However, Wei Xian repeatedly led his army to counterattack, and after several days of bloody battles, the Southern Chu army failed to gain an advantage. Seeing that his soldiers were exhausted, Duke Deqin withdrew his troops, only occasionally dispatching naval forces to patrol, while resting and preparing for battle in Fucheng. Although far from Southern Chu, the army's supplies were not lacking due to water transportation and the rich resources of Shu State. The war situation had become a stalemate.

  November 27th, finally received the battle report of Da Yong.

  Da Yong led by King Li Zai, with an army of 200,000, broke through the Yangping Pass after bribing its commander, and easily captured it. After a series of victories, they conquered Nan Zheng in two months. Although Dongchuan belonged to Shu, all the prosperity was in Xichuan, so the people of Dongchuan were resentful. After Li Zai entered Sichuan, his army did not harm anyone, and he swept away the remaining defeated generals and bandits, pacifying Dongchuan in less than three months. Li Zai then deployed his troops in front of Jiameng Pass, and once it was broken through, there would be no more barriers on the east side of Chengdu.

  The ruler of Shu, Meng Huo, was defending against enemies on two fronts and was in a precarious situation. He urgently dispatched troops to reinforce the garrison at Jiezi Pass, which now totaled 900,000 men. He also sent an additional 200,000 troops to aid Luocheng, leaving Chengdu empty. On November 12th, the 200,000 reinforcement troops entered Luocheng with the support of the 300,000-strong garrison and Wei Xian's 200,000-strong army.

  When Deqin Wang received the battle report, his face was dark and gloomy. Even if Dayong retreated, as long as he held onto Yangping Pass, Dongchuan would inevitably be controlled by Dayong, and if he didn't get Luocheng, he wouldn't be able to resist the Shu army. If he retreated to Bajun, he couldn't bear to do so either. Now, Nanchu was more anxious than Dayong about attacking Shu. However, after facing off for so many days, there wasn't any progress, which made one's heart anxious. Fortunately, the Nanchu reinforcements arrived, and now the Nanchu army had a total of 90,000 troops on land and water, at least they wouldn't be defeated. In this way, under the attack from both Dayong and Nanchu, Shu would inevitably perish sooner or later, it's just that afterwards, it might not necessarily be Nanchu who got Chengdu.

  During this period, I have been living a relatively leisurely life. Every day, apart from eating, I just walk around, of course, to avoid the Shu army's spies and assassins, I won't go too far, and if I'm too carefree, it will attract unwanted attention. Anyway, now I can't intervene even if I want to. Rong Yuan took advantage of my illness to strip me of my power to participate in military affairs, with the excuse being my serious illness. In his eyes, I am still bedridden. However, I don't hold a grudge, after all, this battle should not have any chance of defeat.

  I'm idle anyway, so I told Xiaoshunzi to find a bodyguard for me. Xiaoshunzi thought for half a day and was very troubled. He didn't know many masters who could introduce me to him. According to his words, the masters he met who could fight with him were all killed by him, and they also needed loyalty, which made it even more difficult. He asked if I wanted to find a small eunuch as an apprentice to teach him martial arts and then protect me, but I refused. One reason was that it would take too long, and another reason was that the eunuchs couldn't leave the palace frequently. Xiaoshunzi thought for half a day and said: "In a few years, I'll fake my own death and escape from the palace to go to your place."

  I was about to nod, but if Xiaoshunzi were to be recognized or discovered by others, it would cause trouble. So I said, "How about this? I'll resign from my official position when we return, and you don't like staying in the palace anyway. Why don't we both wander the world from now on?" Xiaoshunzi thought for a moment and happily said, "That's not bad either. I've been wanting to travel around for a long time, and I'm tired of Jianye too. So where should we go?" I thought for a moment and said, "Since Shu has fallen, if Dayong and Nanchu can't fight each other for the time being, we'll go to Dayong first. When Dayong and Nanchu start fighting, we'll go to Beihan next. And when Dayong starts fighting with Beihan, we'll return to Nanchu. With several decades of time, it's enough for us to travel around. If we get tired of traveling at any point, we can just settle down somewhere." Xiaoshunzi's face was filled with a look of longing.

  Just as the two of us were gazing into the future, Xiao Shunzi suddenly darted towards the flower bushes in the courtyard without warning. His figure was like a ghostly apparition, swift and agile, a grey shadow leapt out from the grass, the two figures merged and separated, Xiao Shunzi retreated several feet, his figure bent, somersaulting in mid-air, before pouncing again. The other person hastily counterattacked, but was struck by Xiao Shunzi's palm on the center of their chest, instantly collapsing to the ground.

  I saw Little Shunzi nod to me and walk quietly forward. The person was a young man in his twenties with an ordinary appearance, the kind that would be hard to distinguish from others in a crowd. He wore the uniform of the Southern Chu army, but I could see that the clothes didn't quite fit him, and I could smell a faint scent of blood. This person is a spy for Shu, I thought. Originally, I should have turned him in - it would be a merit, and it's my duty. But thinking about what I said earlier, if Deqin Wang and the others found out, I suddenly felt a murderous intent in my heart. I gave Little Shunzi a signal with my eyes, and he understood, slapping his palm towards the man's head.

  That man painfully opened his eyes, just in time to see Xiaoshunzi's movement. He struggled to roll on the ground, and Xiaoshunzi coldly smiled, changing his palm direction, continuing to strike at that man's head. I saw that man's eyes filled with a sorrowful and indignant expression, and for some reason, he opened his mouth and said: "Stop." Xiaoshunzi's palm edge had already reached that man's temple when he heard me stop him, and suddenly withdrew his attack, retreating behind me. I solemnly said: "Brother, I must kill you. If you have any last wishes, I can fulfill them for you."

  The young man's eyes flashed with excitement and he said: "Please release my wife."

  I was shocked, when did I snatch his wife? I don't seem to have done such a thing.

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